An Evening With Neil Stewart

Last Wednesday we really witnessed nature in the raw (or even in the jpeg!!) thanks to our very own Neil Stewart.

He took us into the heart of Africa to see the amazing sight of thousands of wildebeest following a primeval urge to travel in a never-ending clockwise circle of about 1800 miles. We were able to witness them take their newly born calves and travel in huge herds across the African plains from Tanzania into the Masai Mara and back. We discovered that, heading into rivers via steep slopes, they are able to practice their leaping skills – sometimes with disastrous effects to life and limb as some land on each other or on the rocks about 20 feet below! Then there are the crocodiles and Neil showed us amazing images of battles between terrified wildebeest and hungry reptiles!!! And in the midst of over-excitable wildebeest are a number of far more cautious zebra – showing the former how to approach river crossings carefully!

And as for nature red in tooth and claw – Neil shared amazing photographs of the big cats – leopards, cheetahs and lions who watch the migration with great interest. We saw leopards hauling carcasses into trees for a leisurely lunch – and the after effects with the cats’ bright red faces (and not through embarrassment!) as they emerge from disembowelling a deceased wildebeest (these images would be great for a caption competition!).

Absolutely incredible images Neil (though I don’t suggest we show them immediately before the annual dinner!). We all enjoyed seeing the drama played out on the screen in front of us – it was riveting - a great evening and we’d like to thank you for sharing your experiences with us.